On this date in 2012, the Chicago Bears announced the hiring of Phil Emery as the team’s new general manager.
Emery was taking over for Jerry Angelo, whose GM record in Chicago took a major hit in the last few years before his dismissal. Angelo’s 10-year run featured the hiring of Lovie Smith (the coach whose 81 wins ranks third behind George Halas and Mike Ditka) and a slew of successful draft picks such as Alex Brown, Peanut Tillman, Lance Briggs, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen, and Matt Forte.
Unfortunately for Emery, he never got a chance to replicate Angelo’s run because he was fired after three seasons. Despite having a reputation of a tireless worker and a strong track record as a scout, Emery had three uninspiring draft classes, hired a questionable head coach in Marc Trestman, and signed off on Jay Cutler’s seven-year mega-deal. It turned out to be all a part of the kind of steep drop-off he simply couldn’t survive.
Emery made 20 draft picks in three years in Chicago with mixed results. Alshon Jeffery is the only pick from Emery’s first draft in 2012 still on the Bears roster. Kyle Long (2013) is the only one to have been named to a Pro Bowl. And developmental quarterback David Fales (2014) has thrown a grand total of five passes in three seasons.
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Ryan Pace was hired as Emery’s replacement in 2015 and has been cleaning up a mess since his arrival. The jury is still out on Pace, who hasn’t made the kind of monumental mistakes Emery did in Chicago. But pressure will build with this draft class and free agency period, which is seen as a time where the Bears can reload a team devoid of young talent.
The Bears’ search for upgrades in the secondary is underway, according to Chris Emma of CBS Chicago. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio found himself hard at work at the Senior Bowl this week getting personal time with a deep pool of defensive backs who could be on the Bears’ draft radar. Between that and the ample cap space the Bears possess going into free agency (plus the return of Fangio into the fold despite reported advances by the 49ers), Fangio and the Bears should be working with an improved group compared to the unit that only came up with only eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 2016.
While the Bears could seek upgrades to a wide receivers group that could be without Alshon Jeffery in 2017, 2015 first-round pick Kevin White is on the recovery trail:
White has played in only four games in two seasons since being drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2015. He has a total of 19 catches for 187 yards. Entering the third year of his professional career, it might be too early to give up on a player with White’s size/speed/potential combination. However, it is more than fair to be concerned and skeptical of what his future will look like after two injury shortened seasons.
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Bears rookie cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc says a pair of Super Bowl tickets were stolen in West Palm Beach, Fla. In what might be described as a crime of opportunity, LeBlanc’s mother says she dropped the tickets at a local FedEx when she realized the envelope where the tickets were supposed to be was empty. LeBlanc and his mother are asking for whoever has the tickets – which will be blocked from use by the NFL – to do the right thing and turn them in.
Over at ChicagoBears.com, head coach John Fox reflects on his career experiences at the 28 Senior Bowls he has worked over the years. That’s a lot of high-end talent that have been on display for Fox over the years. Among them, Von Miller – whom Fox said provided his favorite Senior Bowl memory before drafting him second overall in 2011.
At the Chicago Sun-Times, Adam Jahns writes that the shake-up on the coaching staff wasn’t easy for Fox, but the moves could be ones that allow for improvement in 2017. The Bears said goodbye to a pair of long-time Fox assistants – offensive line coach Dave Magazu and assistant secondary coach Sam Garnes, and replaced them with Jeremiah Washburn and Roy Anderson, respectively. Both Washburn and Anderson have player personnel experience, which can prove to be valuable with the staff coaching the North team at the Senior Bowl.
Retired ex-Bears (and ex-Panthers) cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman will broadcast on FOX’s Super Bowl kick-off show next week. Tillman retired prior to the 2016 season and has been a contributor to FOX’s NFL programming in his first year as an ex-NFL player.
It looks like Raiders punter Marquette King is having the time of his life at the Pro Bowl in Orlando:
And if you find yourself interested in combing through a list, here is one with every Bears Pro Bowler (and All-Pro) in franchise history, via Pro Football Reference.
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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NEWSLETTER
On this date in 2012, the Chicago Bears announced the hiring of Phil Emery as the team’s new general manager.
